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OTHER MEN HAVE LABORED 



A SERMON 



Preached December 7th., 1879, 



BY 



REV. CALVIN S. LOCKE, 

A MEMBER OF THE THIRD PARISH IN DEDHAM. 



|) u b i i s b c b b n ft c q nc s t . 



DEDHAM. MASS.: 
PRINTED BY HUGH B. MCQUILLEN, 

i 8 So. 



JE-2S 



OTHER MEN HAVE LABORED : 



A SEKMON 



Preached December 7th., 1879, 



REV. CALVIN S. LOCKE, 



A MEMBER OF THE THIRD PARISH IN DEDHAM. 



u b 1 1 s b e & b g Request. 



DEDHAM. MASS.: 
PRINTED BY HUGH H. MCQUILLEN. 

1880. 







Amer. Ant. Soc. 
25 Jl I90i 



DISCOURSE. 



OTHER MEN HAVE LABORED : YE HAVE ENTERED INTO 
THEIR LABORS— John iv : 58. 

One hundred and fifty years ago, the thirty or forty 
families living in this part of the town went to meeting in a 
building standing on the site of the one now occupied by the 
First Parish in Dedham. Those who were in affluent cir- 
cumstances rode, perhaps, in chaises, while others went on 
horseback, ladies riding behind their husband or brothers 
on pillions, while others still, wended their way on -foot, 
back and forth, through the majestic oaks and maples and 
chestnuts of the primeval forest. The homes which they 
left were different from ours. A huge fire-place, capable of 
receiving on its heavy andirons' logs four feet long, occupied 
a part of one side of the living-room. Sometimes this fire- 
place was large enough to have a seat within its limits, 
where the children could sit and catch a glimpse of the stars 
passing overhead, or hear the snow hissing through the 
smoke, or pop corn and roast chestnuts in the ashes ; or, if 
inclined to learn, study their arithmetic by the blaze of a 
pine knot, while other members of the family mended, knit 
and sewed, by the dim light of a tallow candle.* Near 

*I :im informed that kitchens were also lit by a hake, (provincial Eng- 
lish for hook.) This consisted of a wooden crane fastened above the fire- 
place'. From the end of the crane hung a notched iron rod on which an 
irou bowl containing urease might be raised or lowered. A wick lay in 
the howl and thus a lamp was furnished, very convenient for change of 
position, hut perhaps more primitive iu form and construction than the 
ancient ones exhumed at Cyprus. 

Another local word, whichei', (orthography uncertain), means a hut 
constructed of poles brought together at the top and covered with sods. 



the fireplace stood the dye-tub where the yarn was colored^ 
for the frocks and the stockings. Connected with the chim- 
ney was the huge oven, which evciy Saturday was well 
heated, and yielded to the good housewife a rich store of 
brown bread, and pies, and baked beans. On a crane in 
the lire-place hung kettles in which moat and vegetables 
were boiled. Coals raked out upon the hearth served for 
broiling or frying, and a Dutch oven or kettle with a con- 
cave cover for receiving coals was used for occasional baking, 
and the roasting-jack cooked the beef or turkey for Thanks- 
giving dinner, or perhaps more frequently the fowl was 
suspended by a cord before the tire, and the luscious gravy 
distilled into a dripping-pan beneath. There were no 
matches to light the tire in the morning. At night the glow- 
ing back log was carefully covered with ashes, and usually 
furnished a fine bed of coals as the day began. If by acci- 
dent the fire was extinguished, the only resource was to send 
to a neighbor for a dish of live coals, or to have recourse to 
the aggravating process of striking fire with steel, flint and 
tinder. Looking about the kitchen, you saw the large wheel 
on which the mother or older daughters spun the wool 
which the father and sons had carded into rolls, the small 
wheel with a treadle, on which an aged aunt or grandmother 
spun the flax for sheets and towels, and in the rear a loom 
on which the cloth for the family was woven. At one end 
was the cupboard, or, as it was sometimes called, the 
dresser, on which stood the shining pewter plates and tank- 
ards, with possibly a few pieces of earthen ware. Over- 
head, at certain seasons of the year, hung festoons of quar- 
tered apples or circles of pumpkins, and in a room near by 
you could see the long rows of cheeses, objects of house- 
wifely cart 1 and pride. Over the fireplace hung the powder- 
horn, shot-bag and musket, ready for use against prowling 
foxes, Avolves, or Indians, or more pleasantly employed 
against the deer, rabbits and partridges ; while, perhaps on 
some quaint three-legged stand lav the family bible, almost 



the only book in the household. From these plain dwell- 
ings, homes of hard work, of unremitting industry and close 
economy, your ancestors and their New England contempo- 
raries went to the house of woTship with an effort which we 
cannot realize, and with a constancy and interest which we 
should do well to emulate. 

In Dedham, they went to a meeting-house, the second 
built on or near the same site, which is described as beinir 
"a singular structure," with its double row of galleries ; a 
raised platform with seats along the north and south walls ; 
the floor also occupied with seats, a few pews only being 
erected at the sides. There was a platform, as it is ex- 
pressed, "above the outside covering," or roof. A cupola 
or rude turret rose from the centre, surmounted, not by a 
steeple proper, but by a short pole or staff, as it appeared to 
the eye, serving merely to support a vane. The bell was 
rung by a person standing in the body-seats, or in the aisle 
between them, in the central part of the house below. 
There was no ceiling above, nor were the sides plastered, 
and the whole interior seemed to be studded with spars. 
Four persons occupied the deacons' seat in front of the pulpit, 
and the deacons' wives had a special place assigned them in 
another part of the church. "At three corners of the house 
were staircases leading to the galleries." The lower gallery 
on the north was "for women and lads," the gallery above for 
"young women and maids," the south gallery for men, and 
the seats in the lower part of the house were parted in the 
middle by an aisle, — the men to be ranged on one side, and 
the women on the other. — [Dr. Lamson's Sermon, preached 
the Sunday after fortieth anniversary ot his ordination, pp. 
33 and 34.] 

Boys at that time were sometimes troublesome, and seats 
were constructed for them, at different times, in different 
parts of the house, some of them in the aisles, and some at the 
foot of the pulpit stairs, where they could be watched over. 
In many meeting-houses, constables or tithingmen were 



6 

employed to keep the boys in order and the people awake. 
Each constable had a wand with a hare's foot on one end, 
and a hare's tail on the other. " If any woman went to 
sleep, the constable touched her on the forehead with the 
hare's tail, but if a small boy nodded, he was rapped with 
the other end not quite so gently." Services were some- 
times three or four hours long, the sexton turning the hour- 
glass before the minister at the end of every hour. The 
congregation was expected to stand during the prayer, which 
sometimes continued thirty or forty minutes. The hymns 
were given out line by line by a deacon, and sung by the 
congregation. rf The whole number of tunes known to the 
people did not exceed ten, and few congregations could go 
beyond five." The extreme strictness which prevailed in 
many settlements never existed in Dedham, whose inhabi- 
tants seem from the first to have been rather liberal in their 
religious views, and incliued^to grant considerable personal 
freedom to those whom they, by vote of the town, admitted 
to their number. In many places people were not allowed 
to stay at home from religious services. Men were fined 
for every unnecessary absence, and if they staid away a 
month together, they might be put into stocks, or into a 
■wooden cage. — [Higginson's Young Folks History, p. 76.] 
About 160 years ago, the people in the south part of the 
town, now Norwood, and in the part where we live, became 
uneasy at the inconvenience of going to meeting in Dedham. 
The violent dissensions which then prevailed in the Dedham 
church may also have exerted a disturbing influence. At 
various times from 1717 till 1728, petitions were presented 
from citizens in this part of the town, requesting to be freed 
from paying the minister in Dedham, that they might have 
preaching among themselves. In May, 1728, money was 
granted by the town to support preaching in the southerly 
part, and perhaps under this grant meetings for religious 
worship were held in the house now inhabited by Newton 
and David Ellis, near Ellis station. The first house on Sum- 



mer street, now nearly in ruins, and owned by Mr. Henry 
Draper, formerly by Mr. Lemuel Gay, was used as a place 
of worship by the first members of the Episcopal church in 
this town, who, in consequence of a petition presented March 
18th, 1734, had part of the tax payable to the pastor of the first 
church remitted. The action of the town setting off the 
south and west portions of it as a parish or precinct was con- 
firmed by the Geueral Court in 1730. The great subject of 
discussion among those who inhabited this place one hundred 
and fifty years ago, was where the meeting-house should be 
located. So great was the difference of opinion on this mat- 
ter, that in 1733 the inhabitants of West Dedham separated 
from those in South Dedham, and returned to the " Old 
Precinct." The agitation for a distinct society, however, 
continued. The frame of a meeting-house had been erected 
as early as 1731, not far from the house now occupied by 
Mr. Greenwood Fuller, on land given by Mr. Joseph Ellis, 
whose descendants of the fourth, fifth and sixth generations 
we still number among our congregation. This frame was 
purchased and roughly covered. A church was organized 
January 4, 1735, and Rev. Josiah D wight was installed as 
pastor, and had for his residence the east part of the house 
of Greenwood Fuller, which tradition reports was purchased 
and finished off by the parish for this purpose. The mem- 
bers of the old parish were unfavorable to the separation, 
and did not comply with the invitation to be present at the 
installation of Mr. Dwight. And it was not till January 
10th, 1736, that, after a struggle of twenty years, an act of 
incorporation was passed, giving this parish a distinct exist- 
ence. After the first meeting-house had been occupied for 
nearly three-quarters of a century, it became necessary to 
make large repairs or to build a new house. Which course 
to take and where to locate the house were questions which 
violently excited the society, and almost equally divided it. 
The majority, however, decided to build a house on the spot 
where we now worship. Others withdrew and began the 
formation of what is now the Baptist society. 



Mr. Aaron Baker, a carpenter, purchased the old house, 
and disposed of it to the seceding members, who moved it to 
the place on which it now stands, and fitted it for their own 
use. This meeting-house had a gallery, a high pulpit with 
sounding-board above it, three aisles and square pews. The 
upper portion of the panel of the pews was made of open 
work by the insertion of upright turned pieces of wood which 
may have been nine inches long, and set six inches apart. 
The seats were raised when the congregation stood during 
the long prayer, and their noisy downfall probably marked 
the one supreme moment of the day to the younger portion 
of the audience. Chairs stood in the pews for the use of 
older members of the family. 

On the 26th of February, 1809, seventy years ago last 
February, Rev. Mr. Thacher delivered a discourse on taking 
leave of the ancient house, and on the subsequent Sunday 
the new house was dedicated, ministers from the South and 
First Parish taking part in the exercises. I quote from the 
former discourse a passage, both as a specimen of Mr.Thach- 
er's style and as pertinent to the present occasion : 

"We are already informed," he says, "that this house has 
stood for seventy-eight years. Not a head which planned, nor a 
hand employed in building it, but what has long been mouldering 
in the dust. Very few, either in the parish or town, now survive, 
who then existed : nor is there a single person now living who 
was then the head of a family. Of those who signed the first 
church covenant, one only was alive after my settlement in this 
place. The same has been dead for more than a quarter of a cen- 
tury. Since the above-named period, what numbers in this incon- 
siderable hamlet have been born, formed connexions, and expired ! 
Families then the most flourishing and prosperous in this parish, 
long since blasted by misery and depression, by their remains, 
give us an affecting picture, — of man born to few days and full of 
trouble. And though this place be more stationary than any within 
my knowledge, as to the sameness of names and families, houses 
and inclosures, yet, were the first settlers to rise from the grave, 
they could scarcely trace out their former residence and situation." 



This house which we now occupy, an elegant one if we 
consider the time when it was erected, and a substantial one 
if we consider how well it has sustained the violence of the 
winds to which its elevated situation exposes it, stands on 
land given by Deacon Ichabod Ellis, (three-quarters of an 
acre) and by Mr. Newell Ellis, (one-quarter of an acre.) 
The first bell was the gift of Hon. Joshua Fisher of Beverly, 
and the pulpit was decorated by the ladies of the parish, at 
the expense of seventy dollars.* Although the society was 
weakened by the secession of a part of its members, and 
had recently borne the heavy expense of erecting a new 
building, it took early measures shortly afterwards to en- 
sure its perpetual existence on or very near the spot where 
we uoav worship, by the establishment of a fund. In 1811, 
about $2000 was subscribed by members of the parish. 
Three thousand dollars were added by the bequest of Hon. 
Joshua Fisher, and at the decease of Rev. Thomas Thacher, 
his real and personal estate fell to the parish. In 
1836 the money value of the fund was $5252.82. By 
the liberal bequest of Mr. Lusher Gay the fund was 
largely increased in 1866, and is now $15,606.66. The in- 
terior of the church, dedicated in 1809, probably remained 
without much alteration till the year 1855. At thai? time 
the floor was about two feet lower than at present. The 
pulpit, although it had twice been lowered, was very high, 
and was reached on each side by formidable flights of stairs. 
The floor of the house was occupied by oblong pews. 
Stoves were put in this meeting-house not before the fall of 
1817. Previous to that time, both in the old building and 
this, heated bricks and foot-stoves containing pans of coals, 
were the only heating apparatus which your ancestors used 
during the long Sunday services. During the summer and 
autumn of 1855, repairs (costing $1230.30) were carried on 



*For this bell a larger cm- was substituted in 1838, ami the difference 
in value, $200, was paid by Deacon John Richards. 



10 

under the direction of a committee chosen by the parish, 
services being held meanwhile in Nahatan Hall. The floor 
was raised ; a lower and more elegant pulpit was substi- 
tuted for the old, and the scattered, uncomfortable and 
uncomely pews were exchanged for the concentric seats, 
which both bring the members of the congregation nearer 
one another, and face to face with the minister ; the bare 
walls and ceiling were handsomely frescoed ; and it is worthy 
of note that these repairs were accomplished without the 
alienation of a single member, and that they gave geueral 
satisfaction. The Ladies' 'Benevolent Society carpeted, 
cushioned and otherwise furnished the church at an expense 
of $577.68. At the same time " Hymns for the Church of 
Christ" was substituted for Greenwood's collection. Recently 
the Hymn and Service Book, published by the American 
Unitarian Association, has been introduced. The new horse- 
sheds were built in 1869, and a portion of w r oodland be- 
longing to the parish was sold to pay for their erection. In 
1854 the choir consisted of persons who, for many years, 
with hardly a Sunday's absence, had furnished the musical 
part of the religious services. Mr. Merrill Ellis led the 
choir, and accompanied it with a violin. Mr. Rufus French 
played on a bass viol. The choir was accustomed to take 
the pitch, before beginning to sing, by sounding the first, 
third, fifth and eighth notes of the scale. Mr. William King 
Gay, Mr. Horace Gay, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Gay, Mr. 
Theodore Gay,* Mrs. Mary Gay, Mrs. Bunker Gay, Mr. and 
Mrs. Anson Gay, Miss Delia White, Mrs. Caleb Ellis, 
Mrs. Martha Ellis, Miss Abby Baker, Mrs. Joshua 
Spear, were then, and for several years after, members of 
the choir. In 1857 the organ, which was built in 1821 for 
the First Parish in Dedham, was purchased for this society. 
It was opened Ju\y 12, and is noticed in a sermon delivered 

Mr. Theodore Gay was postmaster or assistant postmaster from 
March I. L824, when the Tost Office was first opened in West Dedham, 
till L879. 



11 



ou that day. Twenty years later, in the spring of 1877, a 
Tw tan costing $1500 was substituted for the old one. 
"hundred dollars were allowed for the old organ, 
Eight hundred and eleven dollars -and seventy ^ cento . «.e 
given by the Ladies' Benevolent Society, and the balance 
one Lied and ninety-seven dollars and thirty cento was 
furnild by the liberality of a member and frequent bene- 
factor* of this society. . 

The money given by the Benevolent Society was ong.- 
mll ,y devoted to the enlargement and decoration of the 
" metery.t but the action of the town rendering it .unneces- 
sary to apply the money to the purpose first intended it 
21 used l "d in the purchase of an organ Some years 
since, a cabinet organ was purchased tor the us o the 
Sunday school. Lamps were put ,n perhaps as early as 
1866. It was the custom for several years to decorate the 
church with evergreen at Christmas, and to celebrate that 
festal in the evening with a tree, and with songs and rec- 
"s by members of the Sunday School. The church wa 
also used for lectures during two or three winters. Ihe 
£eX of the hall in the new Colburn school-house, and 
the convenient accommodations furnished by Baker's Hall, 

I SSna't^ center, was ha>f an acre phased I. 175, 

o f x:^ »*™™~j%££ t j%z:r£ 

lwntnptnfland purchased ot Josepn *isuei. 
was enlarged b a ract of land L p ..^ and the pro- 

joint fair was held by the Baptis .aim ,.„ niPterv The Ladies- 

Lds were used for building the fence* Mfl» u etery. T^ ^ ^ 
Benevolent Society, m , ddition to ^^' of Proprie tors 

care and decoration of he cemetery The ^ Corpor 

was organized January 5th and Julj 9th UbU, 

tionmade by the town tor the ^^g^^ t , the location 

"»■ * ^ ° UtSet ' g r Wh" M • a Xt,a to pacify two 

of the burying gronnd. V< hi n B ■ .i ■ . burie(J ^ 

SStoTSe^^^r^-W*.- « 

"if God Almighty spares my lite, I will. 



12 

now render such a use of our place of worship unnecessary. 
This place has never known a pleasanter occasion than 
that afforded by the meeting of the Norfolk County Confer- 
ence in the summer of 1877. The house was crowded with 
delegates from the various societies in our vicinity. An 
eloquent discourse was delivered by Dr. C. A. Bartol in 
answer to the question, How shall we obtain knowledge 
of God? And the subject was discussed by other ministers. 
A marked feature of this conference was the collation given 
in a barn west of the church, which had been handsomely 
trimmed and decorated for the occasion. Seats had been 
placed along the floor and on the scaffold. Tables were 
erected at one end of the barn, and although the company 
assembled was twice the number anticipated, ample provi- 
sion was found for all. 

I have now given a brief history of our meeting-house. 
Let me next speak of the successive ministers who have 
been settled in this parish. More extended notices of their 
character and ministry than the limits of this discourse will 
allow, will be found in the centennial sermon of Rev. John 
White, and in the discourse delivered at the funeral of Rev. 
John White by Rev. Dr. Alvan Lamsou. The first minister 
of this society was Rev. Josiah Dwight. He was installed 
June 4th, 1735, and was dismissed, on account of dissen- 
sions between him and the parish, May 20th, 1743. Mr. 
Thacher writes of him : "Mr. Dwight was supposed by his 
contemporaries to be a man of good natural abilities, and 
considerable acquirements in ancient learning. He was 
well versed in Old School Divinity, and was respected by 
the more enlightened as a scholar and a gentleman. Though 
a man of piety and virtue, he was singular in his manners. 
His peculiarities increased in his old age." 

In 1743, just before the beginning of King George's 
war, Mr. Andrew Tyler was ordained as minister of this 
society, and continued in that relation till December 17th, 
1772, almost exactly a year before the tea was thrown over- 



13 

board in Boston harbor. During his ministry occurred the 
French and Indian war in tills country, and the Seven 
Years' war in Europe. The burdens imposed upon the 
colonists were heavy, and were increased by dissensions 
among themselves. Private animosities were carried into 
the churches, and distracted the attention of their members 
from the religious and moral culture which are the true 
ends for which churches are organized. Mr. Tyler and 
this society had their full share in these dissensions. He is 
described "as a man of handsome personal appearance, of 
polite and engaging manners and graceful address, highly 
gifted in prayer." From a perusal of two of his discourses, 
he seems to me to have been a well-educated man, and 
possessed of great fluency in the use of language. His sen- 
tences are long and involved, and full of parentheses. His 
discourses must have been difficult for his hearers to follow, 
and his style forms a striking contrast to the short, sharp- 
cut sentences of Mr. Thacher. The temper of the times, 
and the unpleasantness of the relation between Mr. Tyler 
and this society, may be judged by this extract from the 
parish records of 1772 : 

''The laws of the province require that a minister should be 
learned, orthodox, able, pious, and of good conversation, but your 
committee is humbly of the opinion that the minister of this parish 
is very deficient in some of these qualifications. As to his learn- 
ing, the committee, not being judges in that matter, can only say 
that some men of learning have given intimations that he was 
reckoned at college a very indifferent scholar, and ministers in 
general are looked upon to be much his superiors in that respect. 
As to his orthodoxy, the parish have never made any complaint, 
nor clo the committee. As to his ability, which we take not to 
imply the same thing as learning, but is understood by us to 
mean the same thing as an able minister of the New Testament, 
that is, one apt to teach, who always feeds his flock, one able to 
convince gainsayers, who can comfort as well as reprove, one 
who can govern his own temper, and bear with the infirmities of 
others. In all these particulars, we consider Mr. Tyler deficient. 



14 

But what is most exceptionable, Air. Tyler does not appear to be 
a man of piety and good conversation. He is frequently guilty 
of rash and unguarded expressions, of a disregard to truth. He 
has handled the word of God deceitfully, in order to level his 
artillery against those with whom he has been offended. He has 
been noisy, boisterous, and turbulent. In administering the dis- 
cipline of the church, he has been partial through prejudice." 

— Worthington, 

We rnay well suppose that the controversy connected 
with Mr. Tyler's dismission, and the burdens which the 
parish had borne during the colonial wars, left it ill pre- 
pared for the severer struggle of the Revolution. After 
Mr. Tyler left, it does not appear that any money was 
granted by the parish for the supply of the pulpit until 
March 8th, 1774. "A committee was then chosen to confer 
with members of the South Parish on the subject of congre- 
gating together on Lord's Days, three months from the suc- 
ceeding April, in their meeting-house, and in the meeting- 
house of this 2~>arish , alternately. It does not appear from 
the records that this scheme was carried into effect." 
Large sums, (at one time £1200,) were levied on the polls 
and ratable estates of the parish in order to carry on the 
war, and its young men were called away to engage in mili- 
tary service. For seven years this society was without a 
minister, but just a century ago, in 1779, the year when the 
British were plundering along the coast of Connecticut, and 
Putnam took his famous ride down a precipice, and An- 
thony Wayne stormed Stony Point, and Paul Jones, after 
a desperate fight, captured two English frigates, the fortu- 
nate choice of Mr. Thomas Thaeher for minister was made 
by the people of this parish. He was a man of remarkable 
ability, a good scholar in the classics and in history, an 
original, independent thinker, vigorous and outspoken in 
his speech, excitable in his temper, but ready to make 
amends by apology, when he seemed to have done another 
injustice. He was generous and hospitable to such an extent 



15 

that, at his decease, after a ministry of thirty-three years, 
his property was very small. His wit was keen and pene- 
trating, and must have cut severely those who were exposed 
to it. Several of his sayings, and reports of his practical 
jokes, have come down through three-quarters of a century, 
and serve to illustrate the lines of Shakespeare : 

"The evil that men do (or say) lives after them ; 
The good is oft interred with their bones." 

I have already quoted a passage from one of his dis- 
courses. Two other brief extracts will help you to form an 
idea of his characteristics. Speaking of the Apostles, he 
says : 

"How different theirconduct from that of modern enthusiasts 
and impostors ! What other proof of their authority do they give 
but their bare word ? What art or science are they masters of, 
unless that of fascination and deceit ? What credentials do they 
exhibit except impudence and low breeding ? Or, what miracle 
do they work, unless the number of fools and maniacs they col- 
lect to hear them vociferating their blasphemy and impertinence ? 
When men thus presumptuously run before they are sent, and 
intrude themselves into offices for which they are manifestly unfit, 
it is no breach of Christian charity to pronounce them impostors 
or self-deluded, and it is difficult to determine whether knave or 
fool is the predominant trait in their character." 

Speaking of the ministry in the hands of men destitute 
of talent and education, he remarks : 

"In one solitary instance, we know our blessed Lord had 
need of an Ass, but I do not find from a syllable of the New 
Testament, that he ever commissioned that sagacious animal to 
be an Apostle." 

Mr. Thacher was a sympathizing pastor, a warm friend, 
a hater of cant, superstition and bigotry, one of the pioneers 
in that movement which, under Channing, Ware, and their 
compeers, led to the separate establishment of the liberal 
wing of the Congregational church under the Unitarian 
name. Mr. Thacher's pastorate continued till his decease, 
October 19th, 1812. 



16 

April 20th, L s 14, Mr. John White, of Concord, was 
ordained, and began an acceptable, peaceful ministry of 
thirty-eight years. Mr. White's natural endowments fitted 
him eminently for the Christian ministry. He was a sincere 
believer, and a conscientious, faithful laborer in his Master's 
cause. He was mild, gentle, courteous and conciliatory ; a 
man of refinement, good culture and purity. He was dis- 
creet and practical. The light of a mild, and charitable, 
and devout spirit shone in his daily walk and conversation, 
so that, I doubt not, his life was as effective as his preach- 
ing. He was thoroughly devoted to the welfare of his people, 
and spared no pains for their intellectual and moral prog- 
ress. He was personally unknown by me, but it was my 
privilege to be acquainted with the one who very faithfully 
shared his labors, and made his home a house of hospitality, 
not merely a cheerful dwelling for his family, but an attrac- 
tive place of resort for the members of their parish. I am 
glad to have this public opportunity to pay this imperfect 
but sincere and heartfelt tribute of respect and affection to 
the memory of Mrs. White. 

She had, like Wordsworth's wife, 

"The reason firm, the temperate will. 
Endurance, foresight, strength, ami skill: 
A perfect woman, nobly planned. 
To warn, to comfort, and command." 

She must have been a wise counsellor to her husband, 
an energetic co-operator with him in his ministerial work, 
a cheering companion in his hours of depression and dis- 
couragement. Blessed with remarkable physical strength 
and health, which she seemed to carry into her old age un- 
abated, and through which she performed an amount and 
variety of labor entirely beyond the ability of most women, 
she also possessed a lady-like <>race and dignity, which 
enabled her to step from the garden or the kitchen and 
meet, on equal terms in intelligence, culture, and charm of 
conversation, visitors who had made these matters special 



17 

objects of attainment. She was an admirable household 
economist, an artist in all that relates to the furnishing of 
her house, or the setting of her table ; a generous friend to 
the poor ; a public-spirited member of society ; a trust- 
worthy friend. She was very active in procuring funds for 
the decoration and enlargement of our cemetery, and con- 
tinued, after her husband's decease, to take a lively interest 
in the prosperity of the parish. Her death was consistent 
with her life. While engaged in collecting supplies for our 
soldiers wounded in the War of the Rebellion, she was 
seized with a severe cold, succeeded by pneumonia, and 
terminating with her death.* 

The Sunday School connected with this society began 
during Rev. Mr. White's ministry. It was an innovation 
greatly opposed at first. Catechising the children by the 
pastor was the method then employed, followed by the in- 
struction of graded classes by separate teachers, as at pres- 
ent. The ministry of Mr. White was terminated by his 
decease, February 1st, 1852. For nearly three years after- 
wards the pulpit was supplied by various ministers, and 
calls were extended to two or three candidates. December 
6, 1854, the writer of this discourse was ordained as pastor 
of this church and society, and continued in that relation 
nine and a half years, till June, 1864, and was afterwards 
minister of the first parish in Dover, from June, 1868, to 
April, 1879. After a vacancy of two years, Rev. Henry 



*During Mrs. White's residence in West Dedham, the Ladies' Bene- 
volent Society was founded in 1831, January 1st. It began with eighty 
members, and those were invited to join who were "desirous to afford 
assistance to the poor within the limits of the parish." Mrs. White was 
president as long as she remained in Dedham. This society has spent, 
as gifts to individuals, '$1084.34; for the cemetery, $617.06; for the 
meeting-house, $577.68; for library, $452.76; for organ, $811.70. A 
Social Library was established in 1817, and the West Dedham Library in 
1842. A Book Club existed during the greater part of Mr. Locke's min- 
istry, and the Parish Library was founded in 1866. Large additions 
were made to the Sunday School Library from the proceeds of a concert 
»iven by the children in 1858. 



18 

Westcott accepted an engagement of one year with the 
society, and at the eud of this time entered into pastoral 
relations with the ancient society at Lexington. Mr. Elisha 
Gifford received a call August 12, 1867, and resigned the 
charge of the parish March 11, 1872. He was subsequently 
settled at Presque Isle, Maine, and is now residing in Cam- 
bridge. Rev. Edward Crowninshield began his ministry 
the first of January, 1873, and closed his pastoral connec- 
tion with the society, May 31, 1879. He is now settled 
over a flourishing society in Belfast, Maine. May 26th, 
1879, the house* which he occupied, and which had been, 
at intervals, the home of the ministers of this society for 
twenty-five years, was burned, and the records of the church 
were also destroyed in the flames. Your pastors, subse- 
quent to Mr. White, are still living, and it does not become 
me to make an estimate of their work and character. Our 
experience, I think, shows that frequent change is undesir- 
able, and that each change, even when unaccompanied by 
any dissension in the society, results in a diminution in our 
numbers. Our experience teaches us to be very careful in 



* This house formerly stood on the south side of Nahatan street, aud 
was reached by a lane from Clapboardtrees street. Nahatan Hall was 
connected with it, and was used without charge by the owner, for the 
fairs, social gatherings, aud ladies' meetings of the parish. It is a legend 
about this house that Moll Pitcher, au uncanny woman from Lynn, once 
stopped at it and asked for a drink of cider. Being refused, she said : 
"Your neck will snap like this," at the same time breaking the stem of 
her clay pipe. Shortly after, the man fell and broke his neck. It was 
also predicted that the house would be destroyed by lire. Near it, once 
stood the house last owned by Mr. Thomas Connor, which has also been 
burned. A house east of the church, once owned by Mr. David Ellis, 
and in which Rev. George and Rev. Rufus Ellis were born, has been re- 
moved! The first house built in that part of Dedham known as Clap- 
boardtrees, stood opposite Mr. Greenwood Fuller's, and was occupied by 
l)ea. Jonathan Onion. It is said a school-house once stood at the corner 
of Nahatan street, near the old church. Oue eud of this school-house 
was occupied by a tire-place, and the scholars faced the side walls. At 
one period, the only school-house in the parish was near the present 
situation of the Baptist meeting-house. 



19 

the selection of our minister, and to give him hearty, 
efficient support and co-operation when he is established 
anions us. 

During the quarter of a century since my ordination 
in this meeting-house, some changes have taken place which 
are worth noting. Twenty-five y%ars ago it was customary 
to toll the bell the morning after a death in the parish, first 
striking three strokes if it was a man, two strokes if a 
woman, and one stroke for a child, and then the age was 
tolled. The bell was also struck while the procession was 
marching to the grave. This custom went into disuse about 
1868. It was also customary for bereaved families to have 
notes read by the minister on Sundays subsequent to a fune- 
ral, requesting the sympathy and prayers of the congregation. 
The annual parish meeting, in March, was opened with 
prayer. The Lord's Supper has also been abandoned, not 
I believe, from any low estimate of its value, but from a 
diffidence and reluctance to take a position which might 
seem to imply an assumption of peculiar excellence. I be- 
lieve that this view of the Lord's Supper and church mem- 
bership is groundless, and hope that soon this ancient rite, 
and the touching rite of infant baptism, may be renewed, 
and that the limits of the church may be as extended as that 
of the society itself. Public services on Thanksgiving Day 
and Fast Day have not been held since 1864. Previous to 
1870, it was customary to hold two services, one in the 
morning and the other in the afternoon. In that year, it 
was voted that there be no service the first two Sundays in 
August, and no afternoon service in July and August, and 
that the parish committee be authorized to dispense with 
the afternoon service on stormy days. Not long after, the 
second service was entirely abandoned. The number of the 
congregation now, and twenty-five years ago, does not 
greatly vary. The number of families has considerably 
diminished. At that time, there were maivy aged members 
connected with this society, too old and infirm, many of 



20 

them, to be present at public worship. These have passed 
away, and their places been frequently taken by those who 
have not united with any religious society. I see by my vis- 
iting list of 186Q, that there were eighty-two families to 
which I was accustomed to extend pastoral care. Now 
there is about one-half that number which the pastor of this 
society might be expected to visit. The existence among 
us of a large portion of the population that attend religious 
services nowhere, is not peculiar to this place. It seems to 
be an increasing evil, and needs to be met by vigorous and 
united efforts on the part of those who are interested in the 
maintainance of the means of moral and religious training. 

Twenty-five years ! A casual visitor, even though a care- 
ful observer, might not notice any extended changes in our 
place during that period. There are the same areas of pas- 
ture, woodland, and cultivated fields. Not many dwellings 
have been erected, nor many removed or demolished. But 
compare the congregation that then assembled within these 
walls with the one that now meets here, and we see evidence 
of the busy hand of change. Many of those who were then 
actively interested in this society, men and women who were 
distinguished for integrity and moral worth, and sincere 
piety, and sweetness and purity of disposition, have passed 
away. Permit me to recall to your thoughts that procession 
which year by year has gone from us into the Silent Land. 
As I take the homes of the parish in their order, you will 



Note. — Some changes in the occupations of the inhabitants may be 
noted. During the second war with Great Britain, large quantities of 
beef and pork were packed in West Dedham, and as the coast was block- 
aded, some of the men, among them Mr. James Pettee, Mr. Samuel 
French, and Mr. Colburn Ellis, drove horse or ox teams to New York 
and Philadelphia. The trip to the former place took three weeks ; to the 
latter, six. An iron foundry was standing in West Dedham about the 
middle of the current century, and daring the Civil War malleable iron 
works did a flourishing business. In 1854, and for many years pre- 
viously, the women in this town, and adjacent towns, sewed straw braid. 
The use of machinery has now entirely desti'03-ed this occupation. 



21 

see that there are very few that the angel of death has not 
visited. The amiable wife of Mr. Allen Colburn, the aged 
Mr. Samuel French, Mrs. Hepzibah French, Mrs. Ezechiel 
Kingsbury, who made her humble home lovely with flowers, 
Mrs. Jason Gay, Mr. Alvin Gay, the aged Mrs. Dean and 
her daughter, Mr. Chas. D. Morgan, the venerable Capt. 
Jeremiah Baker, whose life continued nearly a century, and 
at whose house Mr. Thacher staid when he first preached as 
a candidate ; patient Mrs. Thompson and her group of intel- 
ligent and attractive daughters ; Miss Betsy Turner, the gen- 
tle Mrs. Ellis Gay, Mr. Merrill Ellis, for manyyears clerk 
of the parish and leader of the choir; Mrs. Achsah Shat- 
tuck and her daughter, universally beloved ; Mr. Leonard 
Mason, Mrs. Lusher Baker, the good wife and careful 
mother ; Mr. Nathan Phillips, the respected and upright citi- 
zen ; Mr. Alfred Baker, Mrs. Olive Guild, a mother deserv- 
edly loved and honored by her many children ; Dr. Howe, 
the kiud physician, and his wife long prominent in connec- 
tion with the Ladies' Benevolent Society ; Mr. George Draper, 
Mr. Henry Gay, a man who, with his father, Win. King 
Gay, took a deep interest in the welfare of the parish ; Miss 
Lizzie Gay, who died sustained and comforted by the faith 
that she should at once join her father; Mr. Caleb Smith, 
Mr. Newell Fisher, Mrs. Parker, the model of neat house- 
keepers, four of whose children are still connected with this 
society ; Mrs. Steele, Mr. Hartshorn Boyden, Mr. Horace 
Gay, Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. Sarah Allen, Mrs. Elizabeth Owen, 
Mr. and Mrs. David Boyd, Mrs. Amy Draper, Mr. and Mrs. 
Luther Cheney, Mr. Leonard Smith, Mr. James Pettee, the 
diligent reader and independent thinker ; his daughter, Lucy 
Pettee, remarkable fur her social qualities ; Mr. Colburn 
Ellis, a leading man in the society and his wife distinguished 
for Christian gentleness and humility ; Mr. Rufus French and 
his wife so many years an invalid ; Mrs. Samuel Cheney, 
Mrs. Fairbanks, Mr. Seth Gay, Miss Amanda Cheney, ven- 
erable Mr. Jason Ellis and his cordial wife ; Mrs. Chloe 



22 

Fisher, Miss Clarissa Richards, her sister Polly Richards, 
and Mr. Avery Whiting, Mr. John Baker, ready of memory 
and fluent of speech ; Mr. Hezekiah Turner, who died while 
ringing the bell for public worship ; Mr. and Mrs. William 
King Gay, the honest and diligent Mr. Eaton Whiting and 
his estimable wife, and his son George, the patriot soldier ; 
Mr. Joel Gay, Miss Sophia Gay, Mr. Richard Ellis, Mrs. 
Bailey, Mrs. Nathaniel Colburn, Mrs. Thaddeus Gay, Mrs. 
Cobb, Mrs. Cynthia Kingsbury, Mrs. Katy Kingsbury, Mr. 
and Mrs. Lusher Gay, the benefactors of the parish, not 
merely by tlie bequest of their estate, but by their efforts 
and influence while living : — these are some of the names 
that I recall. These are the persons whose faces we miss 
as we enter your homes or meet together in this house. 
The recital of their names, taken in connection with 
removal of families to other places of residence, shows 
our numerical loss, but the greatness of this loss can 
only be estimated by those who knew intimately the 
steady trustworthiness, the discretion, the good judgment, 
the public spirit, the quiet, unpretending virtues, the gen- 
tleness, affection and religious trust, whose influence left 
behind a rich treasure in the hearts of surviving friends, is all 
that remains of those dear ones whose forms and faces we 
shall see on earth no more. 

These men and women have labored : ye have entered 
into their labors. The problem which we have set before 
us in this society, and others of like character, is not an 
easy one. Our purpose is to have a religion without gloom, 
bigotry, cant, or superstition ; earnest and devout, but 
without clap-trap and sensationalism ; a faith without nar- 
rowness ; a piety without asceticism ; a high standard of 
morality, without self-righteousness or uncharitableness. 
We wish to use the world without abusing it, to be of the 
world and still to be kept from the evil in the world. We 
wish to engage in innocent amusements, and feel that God's 
blessing rests upon us in our gaiety and mirth and recrea- 



23 



tion. We wish, while we keep ourselves open to all the 
elevating and refining influences of the age, to its education, 
discoveries, art and culture, also to keep steadily with us 
a sense of God's nearness to us, and of his providence, love 
and care. We wish for freedom of thought, and on the 
part of individuals a sincere, conscientious search for the 
truth. We want a fellowship of hearts, a communion of 
souls, undisturbed by doubt, jealousy, or suspicion. We 
want unity of action, and we want the working power of 
every man, woman and child in this society, for the pros- 
perity of our parish, and still more for the upbuilding of 
that spiritual temple within us, more majestic and beautiful 
than mortal hands can rear. My observation has shown 
that the destructive worm gnawing at the vitals of our 
smaller societies is private feuds and resentments. Some- 
body is slighted ; somebody is neglected ; somebody is crit- 
icized ; somebody is censured ; somebody's services are not 
appreciated; somebody is unjustly treated and spoken of; 
and somebody quietly stops attendance upon our public ser- 
vices, or ceases to use his peculiar gifts for the general 
good. This course is a natural one. The impulse towards 
it is one to which I am not myself insensible, but I believe 
the truly Christian way is to resist it. Lay aside resent- 
ments, forget and forgive the offences, perhaps unintentional, 
that have been committed against you. Take hold of the 
work for which you are best fitted. If you can do but 
little, your presence, your desire to be helpful, the sense of 
your approval, will encourage others. No child that goes 
into a corner and sulks, by himself, is happy. It is only 
when he forgets the plaything that has been broken, or the 
hasty word, or the angry blow, and joins with his com- 
rades, that he has enjoyment. We must work together in 
order to be knit together. We must know one another 
in order to have mutual confidence. We must be mutually 
helpful, conciliatory, charitable, and kindly disposed, in 
order to be a living, and genuine, and thriving church of 
Jesus Christ. 



24 

Other men have labored. They have established this 
society ; they have erected this house ; they have contrib- 
uted generously the means for the maintainance of religious 
services ; they have been thoughtful for the long line of 
generations to succeed. Enter ye into their labors. Take ' 
up the tasks and the burdens which your fathers have left. 
Render effectual in your lives and characters the influences 
which they sought to transmit. Add the weight of your 
good character and exertions to the grand increasing inheri- 
tance which moves down the stream of time. 

Other men have labored. Not merely the men of this 
society. We are "heirs of all the ages, and enjoy the long 
result of time." From this Bible, thirty centuries look 
down upon us. Patriarchs, prophets, martyrs, the apostles' 
glorious company, saints, reformers, good men and women 
of all times and ages, have hallowed the world by their 
presence, and made it easier for us to know the truth and 
follow duty. Jesus, the founder of the Universal Church, 
has left his example, his words, the influence and spirit of 
his life, for our inspiration. Let us enter earnestly, persist- 
ently, vigorously, into the labors of these generous, noble, 
devoted souls. Let us enter into their labors, and then 
shall we not hear in our hearts the sweet voice : 

Come, ye who labor and auk. heavy laden, and I will give you 

REST. « 

s 
Well done, good and faithful servant; enter ye into the joy 

of your Lord. 



NOTICE 



O F 



REV. JOHN WHITE AND MRS. DELIA J. H. WHITE. 



By Rev. C. C. Sewall. 



Mr. White was born in Concord, Mass., December 2 2d, 
1787 He was the son of Mr. John White, a beloved and vene- 
rated citizen of that place, and for many years a deacon of the 
Congregational Church there. He received his academical educa- 
tion chiefly at Exeter, New Hampshire. He graduated at Har- 
vard University in 1805, and was, immediately afterwards, a tutor 
at Bowdoin College for one year. He completed his preparation 
for the ministry at Cambridge, and became the pastor of the 
Third Congregational Church, in Dedham, April 20, 1814. 

One of the earliest and most marked traits of his character 

was a purpose and desire to live a useful and exemplary life ; to 

acquire stores of knowledge, which might enable him to benefit 

and improve others, as well as to gratify, strengthen, and elevate 

himself He resolved to cherish those affections, and practice 

those virtues, which would win for him respect and confidence, 

and encourage in others, like purpose and determination. When 

a tutor in college-as it is known to the writer-he was held m 

highest esteem by one* of the most distinguished officers of the 

institution, who was his contemporary there. Of his ministry at 

Dedham, it can never be forgotten by those now living who 

shared its benefit and felt its influence, how devoted and faithfu 

he was to the primary objects and sacred duties of the pastoral 

relation: Never ambitious of distinction for literary attainments, 

or for rhetorical display, and never covetous of human applause, 

he sought and labored with continual earnestness to convey to 



♦Professor Cleavelaml. 



26 

the people of his charge clear views of divine truth, and to create 
in their minds right apprehensions of the duties and obligations 
incumbent upon them in all the relations of life ; to commend and 
enforce upon them those practical lessons of nature and of revela- 
tion, the faithful observance of which would give to their life a 
higher value, and to their hearts the sweetest peace. He dis- 
coursed to them in simple, yet forcible language, of the being, 
perfections, and providence of God ; of his relation to us all ; of 
his infinite love and unerring wisdom in all the revelations of his 
will and designs. of his providence for the truest welfare and hap- 
piness of his children on earth. He told them of the mission and 
ministry of Jesus Christ, and of the wondrous purpose of his 
life and death ; of the spirit which he breathed in all his inter- 
course and experiences in the world ; and of the perfection of his 
example, in which we might follow his steps. His preaching was 
chiefly and eminently practical, and its effect was visibly and per- 
manently benefical to his hearers. Its character and tendency 
are still exemplified in the spirit and life of individuals who yet 
survive him. Its salutary influence was happily felt by others, 
who are now witnesses to his fidelity to their souls, and sharers 
of his joy in heaven. 

We have had like knowledge of no one among his contem- 
poraries in the ministry, whose record was more entirely free from 
any stain of worldly ambition, or of unfaithfulness to the highest 
ends and obligations of the pastoral relation. His uniform sin- 
gleness of purpose and earnestness of endeavor to "make full 
proof of his ministry" in the spiritual health and prosperity of his 
flock, were happily productive of that inward peace which out- 
lasts all human favor, and is infinitely better than all human 
applause. His transparent simplicity and sincerity, the calm dig- 
nity of his bearing, and the warmth of his affections, made him a 
favorite with all his associates in the ministry, and among his 
many friends in all the relations of life. He was accustomed, 
during many years, to receive into his family students from the 
university and elsewhere, to whom he devoted the closest atten- 
tion as an instructor, and on whom he impressed a grateful sense 
of his deep interest in, and care for them, like those of a father. 
His home was a place of happiness to all its inmates, and into it 
nothing was admitted that would needlessly wound the affections, 
or embitter the thoughts of any resident there. 



27 

When worn with the labors of a long and faithful ministry, 
and enfeebled by the progress of natural decay in a frame never 
robust, yet never Weakened by hurtful indulgences, he was sud- 
denly smitten with fatal disease,' the same serene and trustful 
spirit, so apparent in his active life, continued its influence and' its 
manifestations in the chamber sickness, and at the sure approach 
of death. Receiving the most devoted attention and anxious care 
of those dearest to him on earth ; sharing the tenderest sympathy 
and constant offices of kindness of his parishioners and numerous 
friends ; soothed by his own memories of the past, and by the testi- 
mony of a peaceful conscience ; sustained by Christian faith and 
cheered by Christian hope, he was soon released from his suffer- 
ings, and passed on to the heavenly rest and reward of a good and 
faithful servant of God and minister of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Of Mrs. White, it must be a pleasure to all who knew her, 
to recall the beauty and excellence of her character and life. 
Born in Williamstown, Mass., she early became the adopted daugh- 
ter of one of her relatives,— the Rev. Mr. Holcomb, pastor of the 
First Congregational Church in Sterling, Mass. With the cul- 
ture of her mind and development of her character, while in his 
family, she attracted the attention and won the esteem of all who 
frequently saw her ; and, having been recommended to Mr. White 
as most worthy of his affections, and peculiarly adapted to fill the 
place of a clergyman's wife, the attachment between them became 
mutually strong, and they were married January ist, 1816. Sel- 
dom is it that a relation, involving so great responsibilities and 
attended with so much liability to curious observation, and often 
to unkind remark, which wounds the sensitive mind, is so happily 
freed from any cause of regret or unhappiness ; or is so constantly 
and fully accompanied with those satisfactions which best reward 
the faithful endeavor to discharge every duty, and to satisfy every 
demand upon the affections and the energies of one who ventures 

to fill it. 

Mrs. White readily became, in every respect, a fit helpmate 
to her husband in all his pastoral and his domestic affairs. With 
a deep and lively interest in the education of the young, and a 
desire to increase her husband's moderate income, she added to 
her other cares and labors the instruction and discipline of a 
school, and there made her influence felt in minds then best fitted 



28 

to receive those impressions which would remain with them in 
after years. When the school had been relinquished, it was her 
habit to devote more of her time and thought to the leading inter- 
ests of the parish, and by her warm sympathy, by frequent and 
familiar visiting among the people, and by wisely directed counsel 
and encouragement, she aimed to promote the growth of those 
aspirations and desires, which would render the instructions off the 
pulpit more beneficial to their hearers, and to form and establish 
those relations and attachments to their minister, which would 
best reward him, and advance their own moral and religious 
improvement. 

Whatever might affect any of the people, whether of joy or 
sorrow, was of interest to her, and whenever sickness, suffering, or 
bereavement became their experience, her sympathy and helpful, 
comforting presence was quickly afforded to them. But it was in 
her own home, in all her domestic arrangements, and in the con- 
stant demands upon her there, that the disposition and ability of 
Mrs. White were most actively and fully developed. It was there 
that she drew and attached to her,in largest measure, the administra- 
tion and cordial affection of those who observed her daily life, and 
shared the results of her endeavors to promote their comfort and 
happiness ; of those who felt the inspiration of her bright mind 
and her tender, loving heart. Her home was the abode of warm 
and generous hospitality, and of pleasing attentions to all her 
friends and her many casual visitors. The professional associates 
of her husband were always glad of an opportunity to exchange 
pulpit services with him, and to renew the pleasure of a visit to his 
family. On Sunday evenings, often at other times, — but then in 
particular, — some of his familiar and long-attached parishioners 
would gather at his fireside, and there receive and impart those 
expressions of confidence and esteem which most gratify and 
encourage both the visitors and the visited. 

In every proposition for the general benefit of the community, 
as well as for the parish, separately, — and many such- originated 
with her — Mrs. White was amongst the most active and interested in 
the completion of them. In the exceedingly neat and appropriate 
church, where the congregation of worshippers now assembles, 
there will be, to many, touching reminiscences of her zealous and 
hopeful endeavors to replace its former aspect and condition by 
more tasteful arrangements and better accommodations ; an ob- 



29 

ject, the completion of which was exceedingly gratifying to her and 
her friends, as it was, also, most worthy of commendation to the 
parish. In the beautiful cemetery, which now attracts the notice 
of every thoughful passer-by, there will ever remain a memento of 
the tenderness of affection, and the zealous and untiring efforts of 
her who was largely instrumental in the repair and adornment of 
it. There the remains of her husband and of herself by his side, 
now repose, bringing to those who knew and loved them, many 
affecting reminiscences of their characters and lives, and the glad- 
dening hopes of a blissful reunion with their sanctified spirits, in 
a better world. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



014 077 340 2 I 



